Wednesday, October 22, 2008

I almost posted two recipes this weekend, a Spanish paella and a chickpea salad, but decided against it since I did not take pictures. But I think they were winners and I will revive them some other time. This weekend was quite an achievement, since we did not eat out at all, nor even get any take out. Whats more, I even took home made food when we went to see the Fall Colours. Skyline Drive is fabulous this time of the year, and not to be missed.

Fall has set in here in VA, some would even say winter (;)), and there is a nice chill in the air. So a big bowl of hot steaming soup seemed to be the call of the day. I had also finally soaked some black beans that I had bought a long time ago, and that I found hidden in some corner of my pantry. I also had a butternut squash that I had to use up. But there were varied opinions on the method to be used to make the soup. One wanted a very spicy Indian like thing and I leaned towards mexican. So I came up with this idea of having a cook off tv style - A black bean shorba versus a vegetable and black bean soup. I added some butternut squash for colour and to keep with the Fall theme. I was not sure how it would mingle with the other veggies and beans, but in the end, I think it had a pretty neutral effect. It added a touch of sweetness and did not take away from the main flavours.

I decided to use mostly Mexican kind of spices in my recipe. I started with the usual mirepoix and added green and red peppers. I used chipotles in adobo to add a smoky flavour, and boy, did it work ! You can easily get a small can of chipotles pretty cheap in Walmart in the Mexican foods aisle. I used only two, which was quite enough for me for a big pot of soup. But you can use less or more depending on your heat tolerance. I used oregano and cumin as the main flavouring in addition to the chipotles. Nowadays, I heat up some cumin seeds in the microwave or a pan so that they are smoky and just grind them on the spot using my mortar and pestle. This 'fresh grinding' process gives it tons more flavour than if you use store bought cumin or jeera powder. I decided to use the butternut squash in place of corn as a starchy component, just to try something new. I debated over using tomatos in some form, but finally left them out, just adding fresh lime juice instead for a touch of tang. I garnished this with fresh chopped cilantro and lime juice and served it with a fresh whole grain baguette. Another serving idea is to scoop some rice on top, gumbo like.

I think this recipe is completely vegan, except perhaps the touch of optional honey that I added. This is also fat free and can easily pass muster as an 'Eat to Live' recipe.

Chop the onion, carrot and celery in small pieces of roughly the same size. Chop the peppers into similar sized pieces and chop butternut squash into slightly larger chunks. Crush and finely chop the garlic. I prefer fresh garlic only and do not recommend the one you get in a bottle.

Add the onions to a big non stick pot and sautee them for a while. Apart from being oil free, this method will char the onions and give them a smoky flavor. If the onions start sticking, add a little water, 1/4 cup or so at a time and keep sauteing. Add the carrots and celery gradually along with the bay leaf. When these are slightly softened, add the peppers. Also add the chopped chipotles and the garlic. Sautee this mixture till the vegetables look slightly cooked. The more you cook now, the lesser time it will take later for the soup to come together. Add the butternut squash and sautee for a minute. Add the black beans now and the water. I would have liked to add some vegetable stock at this point, but i did not have any on hand, and for some reason did not feel like adding a bouillion cube. Add all the other spices - paprika, oregano and cumin at this point. Add a touch of honey - optional. Bring this to a boil. Put a lid on it and let it simmer for 15-20 mins till all the vegetables are cooked and the thickness is to your liking. Add the lime juice at the end after switching off the heat and garnish with lots of fresh coriander/cilantro.

Serve hot with bread or rice, garnished with more lime juice, cilantro and black pepper.

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Now the other recipe - Black bean Shorba! I am just giving the recipe here without prolonging this post which I fear may have become too long. Who was the winner of this cookoff? Our tingling tastebuds, and our tummies, which were thorughly satisfied :)

About Me

'Kamal' in hindi means exotic and magical , which is what I want my recipes and blog to be.
Kamal Kitchen presents vegetarian recipes from around the world and the family kitchen.
I eagerly look forward to your comments and constructive critiques. Thanks for visitng.